GM cuts 25,000 jobs in US

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General Motors Corp's has announcement that it plans to shed
25,000 US manufacturing jobs in the United States.

The reductions are comparable to a slow-but-steady erosion of
GM's work force over the past few years.

General Motors Holden has said the US job cuts won't have any
impact on Australian operations.

GM chief executive officer Rick Wagoner told angry shareholders
today the struggling car maker will eliminate about one in five of
its plant-floor workers by the end of 2008.

Some American plants will close, and there'll also be
traditional attrition and early retirements.

Wagoner's announcement, coming at a meeting where some
shareholders asked for his resignation, was seen by Wall Street as
mostly an acknowledgement that GM will continue to shrink, much as
it has for over a decade.

Wall Street analysts said Wagoner's announcement of plant
closings and layoffs was not surprising.

"This amounts to little more than past five per cent annual
attrition levels, though it will enable GM to close an additional
three or four plants," wrote UBS auto analyst Rob Hinchliffe in a
report to investors.

Wagoner declined to say which plants might be closed, meaning
thousands of workers at US assembly and parts plants will spend the
next few years wondering about their plant's fate.

Typically assembly plants are closed when it makes poor-selling
vehicles or products that are also made elsewhere.

For years, GM propped up its US sales with ample incentives,
even as Asian rivals launched new models and won more market
share.

But the plan announced today appears to be paving the way toward
a smaller GM suited to the lower customer demand.

"But I think one of the potential diseases of this business, and
we've had it from time to time ... is an overly sunny view of the
ease of growing market share going forward."

Wagoner listed several steps GM will take to turn around its
unprofitable North American auto business, including lowering the
emphasis on sales incentives, speeding the launch of highly
profitable vehicles such as the full-size utility vehicles and
paring down its Pontiac and Buick lineups.

When asked if GM could also cut white-collar or salaried jobs,
he said GM has already cut those positions by 33 per cent over the
past five years.

"We really have to go after all aspects of the business," he
said. "I see us continuing to try to drive improved
efficiency."